Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid going into Limited Production
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010Car and Driver reported today on their blog that the Porsche 918 Spyder, the concept car originally revealed the night before the start of the 2010 Geneva auto show, last March, will go into “limited series production.
This car is a performance hybrid with four different driving modes, and a KERS-type overboost feature similar to those found on 2009 Formula 1 cars. Power comes from several different combinations of its 3.4 liter, 500+ HP V-8 engine (based on the engine from the RS Spyder LMP2) and three lithium-ion electric motors (one integrated into the transmission, and two on the front axle), which provide a total of 218 HP. This means that the Porsche 918 Spyder can act as either a series or parallel hybrid, since the car can be propelled solely by the front axle motors, or by the electric motors used in conjunction with the engine. In it’s least consumptive mode, this Porsche offers a positively European 78mpg, while in race mode the top speed approaches 200mph.
While no actual details have been released, it’s likely that this car will be available only in extremely low numbers and extremely high prices. It is set to become Porsche‘s new flagship model – the brand’s opportunity to set the bar for high-performance, dual-source power.
Porsche 918 Spyder concept | Source: Car and Driver